Make Someone Happy was the theme of the last Hub Dot event organized in Luxembourg for the year of 2016. I was very delighted to get a chance to attend to this Hub Dot event again, especially as the theme of helping others, contributing to the society or making a change through volunteering in different associations sounded very appealing to me. Each time Hub Dot events are organized around a specific theme and a handful of speakers are being invited to share their stories within that area of interest.

This time the event took place on 23 November at the cosy home & deco store STAY – Interior & style  between 19.00 and 21.30. I arrived at the venue shortly after the official starting time and was glad to notice that the place was full of Christmas spirit with beautiful holiday time decorations and other  festive items to be admired. The venue was perfectly chosen to initiate some Christmas atmosphere. There were some cremant and snacks offered upon arrival as well as a colorful dot sticker to pun on the clothes. The dot presented a state of mind of the person choosing it: red meaning establishment in career or business, yellow (Looking for new ideas), green (getting inspiration), blue (socializing), purple (one of the story tellers). The purpose of the dots is to help breaking the ice and make a connection with the other participants in a very informal manner banishing job titles or other (in)visible barriers. The color also helps to identify to whom to talk depending on the desired outcome of the event.

I found it very easy to mingle around, ask questions and talk to the other women. The event schedule was divided into two sessions of speakers where there was some free  mingle time in between. Each speaker had 90 seconds on the stage which was just enough for them to present themselves and their business without the audience getting to tired to pay attention. As following the theme of the night, all the speakers were somehow involved in making someone’s wish come true; through official organizations, writing a personalized stories for kids, helping refugees on their own, giving counseling in order to help someone towards a right direction in their lives or being the ones receiving help. One lady shared with us how touched she became when she received a free plane ticket for her and her child to go home and visit the family over the Christmas.  Their financial conditions wouldn’t have made it possible otherwise.

I really enjoyed the whole evening and especially it made me think how easy it is to make someone  a bit more happier. It doesn’t need to be necessarily anything big, expensive or require a big monetary investment nor a huge amount of time. Helping those in need is always beneficial; being it a friend going through difficult times or someone needing some encouragement to change their lives to the desired direction. It makes givers happy while showing receivers that they are valued and taken care of. There are tons of ways to improve someone’s life and we all have tools for it. No magical skills are required, only right attitude, willingness to contribute and attention to the surrounding environment. Let’s make someone a bit more happier on this Christmas!